In today’s evolving power sector, aligning engineering excellence with financial precision is critical. Nowhere is this more visible than in PJM Interconnection, North America’s largest Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). Serving over 65 million people, PJM’s planning process blends technical rigor with economic modeling to deliver cost-effective and reliable grid infrastructure.

In this article, we explore how financial modeling supports the transmission planning lifecycle—and how Keentel Engineering integrates engineering and economics to help developers succeed in competitive bid processes.

Service	Description
Transmission Planning	Load flow, dynamic, and contingency studies
Protection & Control	Relay design, logic diagrams
SCADA & Automation	IEC 61850 engineering, RTU configuration
Regulatory Support	FERC 1000, state siting strategy
Financial Modeling	ARR, IRR, NPV, LCOT
Proposal Support	PJM/CAISO submission packages

In 1995, Sonny Patel earned his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Illinois. But degrees don't build legacies — action does.

For three decades, he has worked the power industry from every side of the table: 16 years as a utility engineer at Exelon/Commonwealth Edison; generation leadership across hydroelectric, industrial steam turbine, and a 9 GW renewable fleet; NERC Regional Entity Senior Compliance Engineer and Audit Team Lead, auditing some of the nation's largest utilities; and testing and commissioning lead on equipment up to 765 kV — the very top of the North American grid.Utility. Generator. Regulator. Consultant. Few engineers have seen all four seats. Fewer still have sat in them.

His experience spans nuclear, hydro, conventional generation, renewables, oil and gas, mining — and today's data centers, where he is authoring a three-book series on data center design. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in six states and a Licensed Electrical Contractor in Florida (Unlimited EC) — he doesn't just design the work; he's qualified to stand behind its execution.Today, as Founder and CEO of Keentel Engineering, Sonny leads a nationwide team of engineers delivering substation design, power system studies, NERC compliance, and commissioning — done right, coast to coast.Three decades. Every side of the table. One standard: accountable engineering.

In 1995, Sonny Patel earned his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Illinois. But degrees don't build legacies — action does.

Utility. Generator. Regulator. Consultant. Few engineers have seen all four seats. Fewer still have sat in them.

Today, as Founder and CEO of Keentel Engineering, Sonny leads a nationwide team of engineers delivering substation design, power system studies, NERC compliance, and commissioning — done right, coast to coast.Three decades. Every side of the table. One standard: accountable engineering.